Refrigerating apparatus



Filed Feb. 29, 1936 s she ts sneet i Feb. 3, 1942, N. J. SMITH 1,27 ,09

I REFRIGERATING APPARATUS 7 Filed Feb. 29, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 m w a z m: I l 3 a 4 wam 3 a3 Hmd NH a [I I] I] ll 1] flu flu w a a "a" 42 m M 4 way a n w a 4 46 8 04 Z 0 M47 6 wt fly 33 33 n z; 6 s

\ J MENT R.

ATTORNEYS.

parati s shown in Fig. 2;

' invention;

2 shown in Fig. 5; and

conditioning means shown in Fig. 5.

Patented Feb. 3,1942

; UNITED sT-Ar para lel-marina APPARATUS Nelson J. Smith, Dayton,-hio, assignor to General- Motors Corporation, Dayton, Ohio, acoriteration of Delaware Application February 29, 1936, Serial No. ca ico '4 Claims.

This invention relates to refrigerating appa ratus and more particularly to air conditioning means.

It has been found that the circulation-of air through air conditioning apparatusoi'ten causes many objectionable'and annoying noises. These are due to manydifierent causes. Many of these noises may be reduced at their source, but where i there are moving parts and the rapid flow of air,

there will always be some noises. Many of these noises are amplified by the ordinary cabinet.

It is an object of my invention to provide an air conditioningmeans whichisacoustically treat- 5.coil orthe by-passing oi the re-heating coil in ed to prevent objectionable noise.

It is a further object of my invention to pro-. vide a metal air conditioning cabinet inwhich the means for a reirigerating system for controllin the temperature and huniiditybf the air within the room. v y

Further objects and'advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following 1 description, reference being had to the accomv panying drawings, whereina'preferrediorm of the present invention is clearly, s own.

In the drawings: r r

1-is -a' sectional view "one form of air conditioning means embodying my invention;

. Fig.2 is a vertical sectional view of another air conditioning means embodying my invention;

Fig. 3 is a diagram of the air condition- J ing means shown in Fig. 2;v e e Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectionaljview showing a modified water flow controlnieansof the ap Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view of another form of air conditioning means embodying my Fig. '6 is' a sectional view or thecontrol valve Fig. 7 is awiring diagram oi'theform of air Briefly, I- have shown in one form a metal air conditioning cabinet provided with a lower machine compartment; an evaporator compartmentand a fan compartment in which the walls of the machine compartment and the fan compartment are acoustically treated by being lined or. 62-6) I form of my invention, I have added a re-heating compartment between the evaporating means and the fan compartment'so that airmay be re-heated to reduce the relative humidity. Inthis form .I also provide a temperature and humidity responsive means'ior controlling the re-heating oi the air which is circulated through the air conditioning means. 1

In the third i'orm instead of providing a separate re-heating compartment through which the air is passed or around which the air is bypassed, I provide for the passing of compressed gas from the compressor through a re-heating .order to provide 'acontrollable way of re-heating the air to reduce the relative humidity.

. First Iorm -Referring-now to thedrawings and'more particularly to Fig. 1, there is shown an air conditioning cabinet 2. having a metal framework 22 formed or metal angle members joined together by welding or riveting; 'Thecabinet is provided with a machine compartment 2|. an evaporating compartment 2i directly above the machine com- ,partment and a 11m compartment 28 directly above the'evaporatin'g compartment. The machine compartment 2l'isiormedby. sound and heat slabs-30a which are fastened to 30 the framework. 22 toenclosethe machine compartment. The evaporator compartment is pro vided with an inlet 32 beneath the finned evaporating means and an outlet 36 directly above the-evaporating 'means. This outlet is 85 provided'with' a substantially noiseless fan 38 or a peculiar type which extends into the'outlet opening 30 of the evaporator compartment and has its major portion disposed in the ian com-- partmen't'28, 38 is directly'connected w ran motor located within the fan compartment. suspended by riibber mountings from the top portion of the framework 22.

' Surrounding the .irame'work 22. and supported thereby are outer; sheet metal panels 42 which provide the outer metal surfaces of the cabinet. I The, top panel is provided with a grille 44 directly above the Ian; through -which the air is discharged into theroom. 'The'wall 45 which separatesthe evaporator compartment 28 i'rom the tan compartment Ills provided with a soundand heat insulating means it; while the portions of the outer sheet metal panels 12 surroundingtheian v vcompartment 28 are-likewise lined with-sound with soundabsorbing material." In the second I8 and heat insulating designated 40.

' suitable adhesive.

, material is fastened to the wall 45, the outer panels 42, including the top panel or cover by-a Within the machine compartment 24 is acompressor SIL for compressing the refrigerant and for forwarding the compressed refrigerant through a conduit 52 to a water cooled condenser 54 which is in the form of a tank having a water coil 56 therein. The liquid refrigerant is withdrawn from the condenser through the outlet 58 which connects to a filter 60 which in turn is connected by the conduit 62 to an expansion' valve 64 located in the evaporating compartment 26. This expansion valve 64 controls the flow of liquid refrigerant .to the evaporating means where the refrigerant evaporates under reduced pressure and is returned to the compressor through the return conduit 66. The evaporating means as well as. the. expansion valve are connected to and supported by the framework 22.

The compressor 50 is driven through pulley and belt means 68 by an electric motor 1| which is pivotally mounted upon the base 12 which also supports the compressor 50. A spring brace .14 tends to turn the motor 10 in a clockwise direction about its pivotal connection to create a. tension upon the belt 68. The base 12 which supports the motor 10 and the compressor I0 is supported by a spring mounting 14 extending from Ill through pulley and belt means III for compressing refrigerant and for forwarding the compressed refrigerant through the conduits I4. and I42 to a re-h'eating' coil I44 located within the compartment I28. From the reheating coil I44, the compressed refrigerant is conducted through the conduit I40 to a water cooled condenser I'4l containing a water-coil Ill having an inlet I82 controlled by a valve I54 operated by the pressure in the compressor discharge conduits I44 and I42 through a conduit Ill. Whatever refrigerant is not condensed in the re-heatingcoil I44 is condensed within the condenser I48 and is conducted to the evaporating means I" through a conduit I62 under the control of an expansion valve I84 located at the inlet of the evaporating means and provided with a thermostatic bulb I It at the outlet of the evaporating means. The evaporating means It! is connected to the inlet of the compressor by the return conduit I64 which is provided with a solenoid valve I10 which controls the withdrawal of evaporated refrigerant from the evaporator.

The evaporating compartment-I26 is provided with an inlet I12 which conducts air to one side of the evaporating means and an outlet directly above the evaporating means in the wall I14 which wall forms the top of the evaporating compartment. Directly abovethe evaporating means It. is a partition wall I" which divides the reheating compartment I28 from the by-pass compartment I". These compartments each con,- nect directly to the-evaporating means. These compartments havea common top wall I1! pro vided with shutters or dampers III at the top of the by-pass compartment I3! and the shutters the framework. 22 of the cabinet. The machine compartment is cooled by a heat transfer member 16 connected to a source of water supply 18. The water is conducted by the conduit II to a water valve 82 operated according to condenser pressure to control the flow of water throughthe water circuit which includes the heat transfer member 16 as well as the water-coil I within the condenser 54. The valve" .isconnected to the water coil 5 by the conduit 84 and to a drain by the conduit 06.

Normally, the evaporating means operates be- I l2 in the top of the re-heating compartment I28. These shutters are connected by levers and a rod I84 to the damper control motor or device low the dew point of the temperature of the air which is circulated between'the fins of the'evapcrating means and moisture condenses upon the fins of the evaporating means and drops from the. lower edges into a drip pan '88 fastened to the framework 22 directly above the top wall of the machine compartment 24. This drain pan I" located in the fan compartment. This damper control device may be either an electric motor or a fluid pressure device.

The fan compartment I32 is provided with a motor driven fan I which draws the air through the inlet I12 in the evaporating compartment through a portion of the surfaces of the evaporating means and thence through either the by-pass I" or the re-heating chamber I2l into the fan compartment and thence discharges the air through the grille. I directl above the fan in in order to distribute the air in the room.. Within the room, there is provided a multiple contact'temperature responsive switch means I02 and a humidity esponsive switch 88 has its bottom sloped toward a drain oonnection 90. The drain pan also has an extension 92 for collecting any drip from the expansion valve 64. The expansion valve may be adjusted to vary the temperature of the, evaporating means so as to control the amount of moisture condensed and'the relative humidity of the room cooled as well as to vary the capacity ofthe rev 'frigerating system.

Second form by-pass compartment I38, and a fan compartment I32. Within the machine compartment I24 is a compressor I34 driven by an electric motor means I. g

The control of the apparatus is shown in the wiringdiagramofl'igli. Inl'ig.3,thereis shown a manually controlled switch I" for controlling the energization of all the electrical members of the air conditioning system. The fan and the compressor motor circuit are connected in parallel electrical circuit relation with each other and with the remaining circuits of the system. The operation of the fan is controlled by a manual switch I" in series with the fan, while the op .ation of the compressor motor is controlled by a low pressure control switch 2.2 which is responsive to the refrigera'nt'pressure at the inlet of the compressor I34, and which is connected in series with the compressor motor In the remaining circuit, the temperature rasponsive switch issupplied with electric energy through the conductor 20! and has a contact 208 which is adapted to connect with the conjtem shown in Fig. 2.

tioning cabinet ductor 268 which leads to the damper motor I86 when the room temperature is, relatively high and has a second contact 2 which is adapted to close the circuit to the solenoid I'll when the room temperature is high to open the solenoid valve I to provide refrigeration tocool the air. When the room temperature is high, this contact 2Ili 'is also connected to'the dampermotor by the electrical conductor 212 in order to cause the damper motor to open the shutters I86 and to close the shutters I82 in order to permit by-passing of the air around the re-heating coil so that the re-heating coil will be substantially ineffective. The damper motor I86 is preferably provided 'With stop switches to stop the motor whenit has reached mg coililll which serves as the inlet opening, through the evaporating means. thence through the reheatby a rather noiseless type of centrifugal {an 3l8 which is located in cooling compartment-384 and which discharges the air through a grille 328m thetop of the cabinet.

Within the machinery compartment, there is providedexcompressor-v 322 driven by'an electric motor 324 under the control of a relay 326. i The compressor withdraws evaporated refrigerant from the evaporating means 3| 2 through a suction line 328 and compresses the evaporated rethe limit of its travel in which one or the other of the shutters are closed, while the other is iully open. Atlow room temperatures the contact 216 ismoved to close an electric circuit 2 which is in series-with the humidostat 184 and the damper control motor I86 so that when the room temperature is relatively low the relative humidity may be reduced by causing the air to be re-heated after being cooled. By virtue of the fact that the humidostat l84-,is arranged in series with the circuit 2, the'system'is con-- trolled by the humidostat I94 at low room temperatures. Consequently, whenever the room temperature is low and the humidity is high,

the system functions, as a dehumidiIying-system directly under the control .of the humidostat In my metal cabinet Ihave lined the walls of the'machine compartment l24 with'so'und and heat insulating material in the form of'lslabs 2l 6 while the Ian compartment I32 is also lined with sound absorbingmaterial 218. This makes my air conditioning means very quiet since the noises are thereby absorbed.

InFig. 4 is a modified form in which a com- 'pressor 220, a motor 222 and a water cooled conwalled machine denser 224 are shown in a metal frigerant and discharges thecompressed refrigerant to a T-connection 330 from which a conduit 332'extends into a control valve 334.

This control valve is shown in detail in Fig. 6

and has in its lower portion'a valve body 336 provided; with-an inlet connection 338 which connects to the conduit 332, a lower outlet connection 348 which connects to a conduit 342 extending'to and connecting with the re-heating coil 3|6, while in the upper portion-there is a second outlet connection 344 which through" :a'conduit 346 connects with the condenser 348 found in the lower portion of the -machinery compartment. The valve body .336 is provided with an upper valve seat 358 and ailower valve seat 352.-

seat "are provided two valve members 354 and o 366." These valve members are each formed of a cup-shaped member which'contains a rubberlike material suchas a'polymer of chloro-2- butadiene-1,3, commonly known as duprene. These valve members are fastened to a valve stem 368 which extends upwardly through the top of the valve housing 336. Threaded to the upper portion .of'this valve housing 336, is a tubular member" 368 'to' which is fastened at its upper enda pressure chamber 362 which includes a cap member 364 fastened through aring member 366 to the tubular member 360. This cap member 364 is connected by an annular member 368 to 'a exible metal bellows 310 compartment-provided with-sound and heat insulating material 226. The condenser 224 differs fromthe condenser'shown in Fig. 2 in that the control of cooling water is by the outlet water and condenser temperature. The. conat its inlet to a water valve 236 controlled by a thermostatic bulb 232 contained in a water chamber 234- at the outlet of the water coil 228 The flow of water is but inside the condenser. therefore controlled by condenser temperature so the outlet water and may be used in place of the water control sys- Third form V In the third form of my invention shown in Figs. 5, 6 and .'I,=I have provided an air condithat the: most economical use is made of the cooling water. This 302 provided with a machinery compartment 384 having sound and "heat insu in the flow or air at the side-or ,the' 3l2 isa re-heating coil 3i8 denser 224 contains a water coil 228' connected which is closed by a cap member 312 at its upper end. The pressure chamber 362'is formed between the bellows 316 and its cap. member 364'on the outside; The interior of the pressure chamber 362 is connected by a flexible tubular conduit means 312a to a thermostatic bulb 314.

This thermostatic bulb 314 is surrounded by an electric heater 3I6for applying heatto the thermostatic bulb which contains a volatile liquid.

Theupperenjd of'the valve. stem 358 is'con- I heated-to a member 318' having an adjustable '3l2 located adjacent threaded upper portion including an adjusting screw 386 upon which the cap member 312 rests, and an upper'spring retainer 382 which presses againstthe upper end of the control spring 384.

The lower end'of'thecontrol spring 384 is supported by an adjustable retaining member 386 which'is threaded into the interior of the tubular member 383. An access opening 388 is provided in one side of the tubularmember 360 so that pins may be inserted into adjusting openings pro-- I vided in the lower spring retainer member 386 so that. through its threaded support the-lower springretainer 386 may be turned to raise it or lower it ino'derto increase or decrease'the.ten- The access opening 388 sion of the spring 384. is covered by acylindrical rubber-like member 388a which also may be formed of .dupren'e or of a highgradeol' rubber to exclude external air and moisture from interior of the valve mechanism. -jThe valve stem passage is sealed by an internal metal bellows 380 sealed -to the Between-the upper and lower valve member 31! at the upper end and to the valve body 236 at its lower end.

Whenelectric energy is applied to the electric heater 318, the volatile liquid in the thermostatic bulb 314 is evaporated so that the vapor passes through the connecting tube !|2 to the flexible chamber 362. This exerts a force upon the cap member 312 to compress the bellows Ill! and exert a force upon the adjusting screw 2". This force is transmitted downwardly and opposes thenatural force of the spring 384 which normally tends to hold the upper valve member "4 in engagement with the upper valve seat 35!. When the pressure becomes sufllcie'nt to overcome the natural force of the spring 384, the valve stem 25! is moved downwardly so that the lower valve .member 3!! is moved into engagement with the lower seat 352.

The condenser 35! in the lower portion of the machinery compartment is cooled by a water cooling coil 382 under the control of a .pressure operated water valve 384 which has its pressure element connected by a conduit 29! to the T-connection 330 Just above the head of the compressor 332. This provides a control of condenser means !|2. Thus, when the system is operated I in this manner, the humidity is reduced by the condensation of moisture upon the evaporating means but the air temperature is not reduced because of the fact that the air is again re-heated by the re-heating coil 2|! before his discharged back into the room.

Dehumidification under high temperature conditions is accomplished by the evaporating means which during normal operation, as well as during the operation of the heating coil, in addition to cooling the air also condenses moisture from the air unless the air is exceptionally dry:' This form of my invention is particularly convenient where'the motor compressor condenser unit is located at a considerable distance from the a evaporating means and the air duct or room to be conditioned, since only refrigerant conduits are necessary for the connection.

water according to the so-called head or condenser pressure. The liquid refrigerant from the condenser is supplied through a supply conduit 402 to an automatic expansion valve 404 which controls the fiow of liquid refrigerant into the evaporating means.

The wiring and control circuits for this air conditioning means are shown in Fig. 7 and includeconductors 40! and 4|! connected to the source of supply of electric energy. The flow of electfic energy is controlled by a manual on and oil. switch 2. .The fan 3|! is connected to the supply conductors 4!! and 4|!. Connected in parallel with fan 3|! is a second circuit which includes the compressor motor 224 connected in series with a relay operated switch means 32! and a fuse H4. The operation of the compressor air for an enclosure, the combination of anmotor 324 is controlled by the energization and deenergization of the relay coil 4|! which in turn is controlled by a thermostat 4|! and a humidostat 420. The thermostat 4|! has two simultaneously operated contacts, oneof which 422 closes the circuitthrough the heater 21! to heat the volatile fluid within the thermostatic bulb 314 of the valve 324 when a predetermined high temperature is reached to connect the compressor directly with the condenser. The thermostat 4|! also has a second contact means 424 which closes the circuit through the relay 4| I and the fuse 4 to close the relay operated switch means 22! to energize the compressor motor 324.

The humidity responsive "switch means 42! is connected to the supply conductor 4!! in parallel pressure for controlling the flow of extraneous with. the contact 424 of the=thermostatic switch 4|! andis thus effective only when the thermostatic switch 4'l! is in open position. The thermostat 4|! is in the open'positiononly when the temperature is cooled below the predetermined maximum desired temperature determined by the setting of the thermostat H8. The humidostat 42! closes at a predetermined high humidity con- 1 .dition, thus energiz'ingthe relay 4|! to cause the I operation of the compressor motor !24'-"when the thermostat 4|! is i" the open position. However, the closing of the humidostat contacts does not energize the heater I'll so that the compressed refrigerant from'the compressor is directed by the valve 284, first to the re-heating coil 3|, after which the refrigerant passes to the condenser and' thence to the evaporating While the form of embodiments of the invention as herein disclosed, constitute preferred of said first named means, means whereby temperature conditions within the'enclosure further varies th operation of one of said condenser elements, and means for flowing extraneous matter over one of said condensers in accordance,

with pressure conditions in-the high side of said system. v

2. In a system for cooling and dehumidifying evaporator, first arid second condenser elements connected in series, means for translating refrigerant from said evaporator to. said first and second condenser elements, means for conveying air for the enclosure in heat exchange relation with'the evaporator, whereby its dew point temperature is decreased, means for conveyinga predetermined portion of the air thus treated in heat exchange relation with the first condenser element, wherebythe dry bulb temperature of the air is increased and the first condenser element is cooled, means for circulating extraneous medium for cooling the second condenser element, temperature responsive means .for controlling the amount of air flowing over said first condenser and means responsive tb'reixgerant matter over said second condenser.

3. Ina system for cooling and dehumidifyin air for an enclosure, the combination of an evaporator, first and second condenser elements. connected in series, means for translating refrigerant fromsaid evaporator to said first and second condenser elements, means for conveying air for the enclosure in heat exchange relation with the evaporator, whereby i ts dew point temperature is decreased. meansfor causing a thermal exchange between said air and said first condenser element, whereby thedry bulb temperature of the air is increased and the first-condenser element is cooled, means for circulating extraneous medium for thesecond condenser element. temperature responsiveimeans for controlling the amount of .air flowing over said first 10 condenser means.

ed in heat exchange relation with said condenser means, whereby the dry bulb temperature of the air is increased and the condenser means is cooled, means for circulating extraneous mediumv for cooling the condenser means, means for varying the, flow ot said extraneous medium in accordance with condensing requirements, and

means responsive to the-temperature conditions of the air controlling the passage of air over said NELSQN J. sm'm. 

